Every day tens of thousands of people put on the police uniform and put their lives on the line to protect and serve the citizens of the United States, and do it with a servant’s heart and a sincere desire to protect their local communities. But others step over bounds, grow power hungry in their positions, and some communities have dealt with corruption and brutality in policing for decades to where over the years it has become an eternal theme in American music, and in country music specifically.

Many country music songs deal with characters being incarcerated, being sent on the lamb, or being killed for things they have done that are wrong. However the following songs are ones that question if anything was done wrong in the first place, or decry how the system doesn’t allow previous wrongdoers to truly rehabilitate.

Here are 10 country songs criticizing the police state.

Johnny Cash – San Quentin

Many of Johnny Cash’s songs speak out about the inequality and ineffectiveness of America’s jails and the police state in general, and he punctuated this sentiment throughout his career with his legendary prison concerts. But no Johnny Cash song spells it out more clearly than “San Quentin”.

Kris Kristofferson – “The Law Is For Protection of the People”

From Kris Kristofferson’s first, self-titled album from 1970 which also included iconic Kristofferson-written tunes like “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” “Me & Bobby McGee,” and “Help Me Make It Through The Night,” “The Law Is For Protection of the People” is arguably Kristofferson’s most powerful counter-cultural, anti-authoritarian statement of his career. Another song from the album, “Best Of All Possible Worlds” also carries a strong message about the police, but one where Kristofferson admits to his own drunken culpability.

“So thank your lucky stars you’ve got protection Walk the line, and never mind the cost And don’t wonder who them lawmen was protecting When they nailed the savior to the cross.”

J.J. Cale – “If You’re Ever In Oklahoma”

Native Oklahoman J.J. Cale’s calling out of middle America’s aggressive police state has also been covered famously by Cody Canada & The Departed, and by numerous bluegrass bands including the Yonder Mountain String Band and the Hutchinson Brothers. It is from J.J.’s 1973 album Really.

“They got fines, they got plenty. They’ll hold you up for days on end. Threaten your life, take your money. Make you think you’re there to stay.”

Waylon Jennings -“Don’t You Think This Outlaw Bit’s Done Got Out of Hand”

The song is about Waylon’s cocaine arrest in 1977 for conspiracy and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. A courier tipped off Federal agents that a package sent to Waylon from his lawyer/manager Neil Reshen contained 27 grams of cocaine. As authorities waited to obtain a search warrant, Waylon flushed the drugs down the toilet, and the charges were later dropped. Waylon blamed the whole episode on the marketing of his music as “Outlaw.” The song includes one of the best lines of any country song decrying the police state.

“I’m for law and order, the way that it should be. This song’s about the night they spent protecting you from me.”

Waylon Jennings – “Good Ol’ Boys” (Dukes of Hazzard Theme)

“Just some good ol’ boys, never meaning no harm…”

Waylon says in his biography, “They thought that was good but said all it needed was something about two modern-day Robin Hoods, fighting the system. So I wrote, ‘Fighting the system, like two modern-day Robin Hoods,’ and they didn’t even know they wrote the damn line. It was my first million-selling single.”

Merle Haggard – “Branded Man”

Speaking out about the difficulty felons find in the world after they’re released from jail, this classic country tune was the title track off of Merle’s fourth album released in 1968. Though there is no shortage of prison songs in country music complaining about how tough it is in the clink or once you get out, “Branded Man” speaks specifically about the inability of the police state to rehabilitate and re-indoctrinate ex convicts back into society.

“I paid the debt I owed ’em, but they’re still not satisfied. Now I’m a branded man out in the cold.”

Wayne “The Train” Hancock – Johnny Law

One of Wayne Hancock’s signature tunes about being pulled over for doing nothing wrong, “Johnny Law” is something most any American can relate to.

“You ain’t nothin’ but a bully with a star on your chest.”

The Bottle Rockets – “Radar Gun”

The cowpunk/alt-country entry into the list, “Radar Gun” was The Bottle Rockets biggest hit, reaching #27 on Billboard’s rock charts. It was released on their album The Brooklyn Side in 1994, later re-issued by Atlantic Records in 1995.

“Schedule 19 on a special election Got our money problems right in hand Droppin them limits like a hot potato 50 down to 30, oh man, oh man.”

Johnny Cash & Bruce Springsteen – “Highway Patrolman”

Though “Highway Patrolman” is seen by many as being against the police state, its message is much more subtle than most. Written and performed originally by Bruce Springsteen on his 1982 album Nebraska, it tells the tale of a Highway Patrolman who regularly looks the other way when his brother does wrong in the local community the officer is charged to protect. Johnny Cash covered the song on his album from the following year, Johnny 99—titled from another Bruce Springsteen song off of Nebraska.

“Well if it was any other man, I’d put him straight away But when it’s your brother sometimes you look the other way.”

James Hand – “Old Man Henry”

When the 97-year-old Henry refuses to relinquish his land for a highway being built through town, he gets shot down by police who think he’s reaching for his rifle when he goes to pick up his cane. “Old Man Henry” off of Jame Hand’s 2012 album Mighty Lonesome Man is based partially off of true events.

“40 rifles raised, from 40 men half crazed. As the bullets struck all around him, his house it caught ablaze.40 rifles then, raised and fired again. As the fatal bullets hit him, Henry fell across Mary’s grave.A man of 97 years, lay dead upon the ground. As his soul winged up to heaven, a gentle rain came down.Henry laid across his Mary, their little home a pile of ash.Nothing left but the memories, they got their damned highway at last.”

26 Comments

Acca Dacca
August 18, 2014 @
11:10 am

“Waylon blamed the whole episode on the marketing of his music as “Outlaw.””

And here I thought it was because he had a cocaine problem. Silly me. I’m in no way saying that the system is or was perfect, but Johnny Cash’s banter in his Folsom Prison and San Quentin sets has always irked me just a tad. I know that there are folks that get mistreated in prison and once they’re released, but I’m pretty sure that quite a few (and I’d wager most) of them deserved to be there in some capacity. That’s not to say that they shouldn’t be treated fairly but they didn’t need special commendation, either.

As for a prison song, I’ve always been fond of “Sing Me Back Home” by Merle Haggard. Not really a protest but still affecting.

It’s not the easiest thing to take up on behalf of the incarcerated, but even a fool can look at the American justice system and realize it is sick to its core. We lock up a higher percentage of our own citizens than anywhere else in the world. Our recidivism rates are among the worst in the developed world. Local police forces arm themselves with military hardware. SWAT teams serve search warrants, even in drug or property crime investigations. And civil disobedience is suppressed with tear gas, pepper spray, tasers and rubber bullets. Those things were originally pitched as substitutes for lethal measures, now they used simply to compel compliance.
I live in Nebraska, and we take children out of their homes and put them in group facilities and foster care at one of the highest rates in the nation. All this is expensive and frightening, and we could use a few more songs about the police state as far as I am concerned.

I normally agree with you, Acca, but this perspective is the primary reason we have issues with our law enforcement in this country. Too many citizens trust their law enforcement to too high of a degree, to the point that they’ll overlook things that shouldn’t be tolerated with justifications such as “I’m sure [insert law enforcement official name here] had his/her reasons.” or “I’m sure [insert criminal’s name here] deserved it.”

I know you didn’t take it that far, but you’re on a slippery slope. Always, ALWAYS observe law enforcement, and if they step out of line, don’t be afraid to pose the questions. Talk with other citizens. The reason nothing changes is not enough people acknowledge the problems. Things like Ferguson should not happen, EVER.

We don’t know all the facts in Ferguson, please don’t jump to conclusions and assume the worst. Innocent until proven guilty, you would demand the same if the situation was reversed. If the officer failed to do his job, justice should be served but until that decision is made, let the system run its course.

If by “Things like Ferguson should not happen, ever.” you mean the riots and looting, and the Al Sharpton parade, I completely agree. It’s shameful.
As facts and evidence come forward in this case, the officer’s story is being verified and the criminal’s story is being contradicted. the so-called eye witnesses are being proven as liars, or are changing their stories. In fact, the young man who was with Mr. Brown has retracted his initial statement and is now admitting that he and his bully criminal friend attacked the officer. So, if you’re pissed about what’s going on in Ferguson, you have a right to be, but not at the officer who did his job and defended himself against a brutal attack. You should be pissed at the folks who are tearing up their own community over a story that turned out to be a lie, and inciting racial unrest amongst the good people of Ferguson and across this great nation.

“I”™m going to go ahead and assume you think George Zimmerman is completely innocent, too.”
The two cases are not even that similar, except that a non-black person killed an unarmed black person. I don’t think Zimmerman was without fault, but since he was acquitted by a jury of his peer by our justice system’s due process, it’s safe for you to assume that I don’t believe he is guilty of murder.

“Lethal force is often used when it”™s completely unnecessary.”
I don’t disagree. Just last week over 2 dozen people were murdered in Chicago. Lethal force certainly wasn’t necessary in those cases. The vast majority of the time a policeman uses lethal force, the ensuing investigations prove that the force was authorized and justified. Fortunately, statistics tell us that over 90% of police officers have never fired their weapon in the line of duty, so when they do as a last resort, it is generally because they felt their life was in danger.
“Don”™t let “I was attacked” be an excuse for blowing someone away. Sorry, but I”™m not getting on that wagon.”
Do you prefer that officer Wilson have handed his service weapon to Mr. Brown and let him finish the job? Look, I don’t believe a policeman is justified in shooting someone every time they are scared, but in this particular instance it appears that the facts are lining up to show that the policeman was being attacked by a very large man and was already wounded fairly substantially. If those details prove to be true, the shooting was authorized, lawful, justified, and proper.

James Hand’s Old Man Henry is perfect for this list. And Radar Gun, which I’d hesitate to call a country song, always makes me think of “some” suburban cops I’ve run into that seem to really enjoy having power over the citizenry.

I have never thought of Highway Patrolman as having a police state element. It’s more about the narrator and his relationship with his bad seed brother. He’s a cop only because the family farm went under and he can’t bring himself to lock up his own brother. “A man turns his back on his family, that man, he ain’t no good.”

Just saying that some people are generally less forgiving than the legal system.

And when weed smokers get prison time, and pedophiles get probation, I can’t say I blame them.

By the way… the son who was arrested for burning crosses eventually was shot and killed after he took a lead pipe to a black man, whom he believed to be unarmed.

Just because some criminals have turned their lives around, doesn’t mean they all do. And if people choose not to trust those who have been in prison, that’s their right. We can’t be responsible for how people will react to our actions, but we are responsible for the actions and the consequences themselves.

I guess “Highway Patrolman” depicts a law officer as ethically compromised in some sense, but it never really struck me as an anti-authoritarian statement as much as one about the ties and contradictions of family and loyalty (and a very moving one at that).

It is interesting to take these songs contrast them with works in the hip-hop/rnb community they deal with the same subjects just different specifics. I am reminded specifically of NWA’s “Fuck Da Police” & “9-1-1 Is A Joke”, but there are countless others from that era. It is also interesting the press the two different spheres got for these kind of songs. I know that for hip-hop the songs and lyrics of NWA, Public Enemy etc changed the musical game in terms of subject matter for that genre and where condemned by the PC police. I don’t know if the same is/was true of country.

Rapping about ghetto life in music in such a raw manner was fairly new in the late 80s early nineties. Sure Marvin Gaye had “Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler)” and Stevie Wonder had “Living for the City” in the 70s but those songs, while an authentic message, I don’t feel have the authentic and valid rage that came much later as nothing changed in these communities.

Not country by any stretch of the imagination, but Cypress Hill’s Eye of the Pig gives a good look at both sides of the law.

Many people hate cops because it is convenient for them. Others have had negative and unjust treatment by police that justify their attitudes. But, just like any other group of people, it is unfair to judge them all based on what a minority of them have done.

There are many police officers out there that are trying their best to do a good job and I am thankful for that. However, 90% or more of them commit a grave sin by condoning the reprehensible actions of their fellow officers, either through staying quiet and not condemning their actions or to the point of actively trying to excuse or cover up actions. When you add in the structural system of internal discipline, overly strong unions, and lack of public accountability and you have a recipe for system where the awful actions of the few come to characterize the whole.

As the saying goes, all the it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing. We do not have a system today in which the good officers can cull the bad ones from their ranks.